Thursday, December 05, 2002

MORAL DILEMMA: I almost always

MORAL DILEMMA: I almost always take my lunch with me to work, and it’s almost always dull as a sand sandwich.  Healthy, usually, but dull almost always.  Today there wasn’t enough decent fare at home to make a reasonable lunch (a feast of a dinner, maybe, but not a lunch at my desk) so I opted to buy my sustenance.  I went to a local chain that makes good fresh bread and sandwiches, and ordered a tasty repast.  I’d brought them a fair share of business in the past; I’d arranged to have them cater whole meetings.  I’ve put up with a fair amount of aggravation from them too, but they still make a good sandwich so I ordered, got my receipt, pulled out the soda and chips I’d told the cashier I would be wanting, and waited for my order to be ready.  Oh yes, I also took out my money and held it obviously and visibly with my receipt.  The sandwich was soon ready, the crowd was churning, and the cashier thrust the bag into my hands with a quick “hereyagothanks.” Now, a few weeks ago I stopped someone at a cafe in LA from giving me change for $40 when I’d given him $25; now I was getting about eight dollars of lunch for free.  It’s like fate was just throwing money at me.  I need money this week, so I walked out with my $20 still in my hand, not saying a word.  Here’s my question: Am I going to hell?